The Sun. — London, England, 1810-03-23 00:00:00

ROUSE OF PEERS. THU.RSDAy, MARCEI 22. Onihe motion ot. the LORD Cji A NCELLOR, \ the judgment of 'the Couit,. below, on the Appealed Cause, Masterman v. Meiklejohn, was affirmed. ..: 11 , Ir: Owen;presenied several Papers relative to the affdirs of the East Ipdia Company.—Ordered to lie 'on the taWe. . , . . , Lord BUCK I,NG if A msti ntE,r i dse and moved for the pro _' _. : -.:rilier Papers respe6ting, the same . . subjeet.—Ordered. . . . . The Exchequer Annuity-ails Bill, and - several private Bills, were'-brought up (row the Cumulous, and read a first , time,. THE ARMY. Lord DARNLpy rose, pursuant- to notice, to call -the attention thein-Lord,hio . to the present state of the. regular defence: or tiie country. }le had some time ago-put a question to his Majesty's Ministers respecting a report that very generally prevailed, of an:intention, on the part of Government, to send almost the whole of the regulAr force iu the country on foreign expeditions.. To that question he receiv=-ed no'satisfattory answer. He therefore resolved to bring forward a distinti motion, the ohj , ct of which would k to ascetfain what nuinherpfreplar troops, and of'What - ch?scription, bad been senrout of the country sinee , the month of Setitember last. After thestnelancholy proof we have had of the. disasters And - disgraces which the ignoraace and incapacity of 'Ministers have brought upon the country after the gpring indications they have betrayed of theitutter unfitness to manage the military rr.ean4 of the country, were they to be permitted blindly to roil in the sane mad career, and to squander away our remaining force, - to' which alone the nation could now iook for protection and kecurity ? With the fatal effects of the calamitous Expeittion , to Walche. ren staring us in .the face, were we to p s rMit Mini sters to doom the remainder of our regular troops to the save unavailing - lufferings, to the same dish°. "tionrable fate ? He .6-Listed their LordshipS' would interpose and rescue the army, and indeed the cowl- try, *Dm the indiscretion and mismanagement of the present Administration ; and not allow the means of our dochestic security to be fruitlessly Wasted away on foreign expeditiohs. ,With that, view, he should wish their Lardships to be informed respeaing the intniber of troopS which have lately beeh sent on foreign service; and in order to. procure that in: formation he should now move an humble Address to his . Majesty,•praying his Majesty would be gra ciously pleased to giv'e directions that there be laid before the House a return of the number of troops, io infantry, ca%airy, and artillery, which have been ordered for foreign service since the ist-September,, up to the present The Earl of Livsaoo4opposed the motion. In deed' the Noble Lord had himself, on a 'former occa sion,-anticipated the, objektion upon which he should now ground thatoppositioa. He saw no reason M)ysit. Should be . supposod that his Majesty's ooverninent were misemploying t he military force of the country. The Noble Lord had addtked no atgunteut on which to jus.ify such a, supleion; He had stated no sped.' fic reasop on which to.rest the propriety of acced- - . . ing to hiy motion. He, however-, felt it liable to many-objections, and particularly to. the danger of coniverng information to the enemy;- ~Was the enemy td be apprised to what quarter we were direCting t..hq, 'application of this force ? Were we to tell them-that we were sending a supply of troops to Cadiz --that we were dispatchit.ga reintorcement to Port ugal ? Surely the Noblc Lord could not have-seri, 'ousty rtfleaecl on-these effeas of his motion, - and yet pertie,etein makilig - it.. Upon theie grounds, however, he should-think it his . duty to oppose the ructtioti,, , Earl GREX,W3S surprised to bear the Noble Se. cretary contend that, there were no grounds of sus• piCion that Ministers would continue to Mismanage ,the military means of the country as they had bi therto'dotte. ,I;lad'not their Lordships the most la. • .mentable experience of their ignorance, their im prudence, and their, incapacity in this respect?- 7 Had their Lordships note seen themiSerable come . quences of the fatal campaign Under Sir 3. Moore ? Yet, with.that sad example acrd adinonition before their eyes, have ihty seen a still more lamentable campaign - in 1809, a campaign- fai more -dismal in its elfeas, as there was 'abundaht iniormation to 'warn us against embarking .in it. .1-lad they not since Seen the most disastrobs and disgraceful of all expeditions in'which'this'Country had ever engaged, ending in 'shame, and sorrow', and confusion, not to. be described. Yet, with these tepeated• and accu mulated instances of'tb incapatity of his Majesty's IVlinisters, their:Lordships -were to be toldthat no ground had been oililuced of a suspicion, that these ssme Ministers might- mismanage and sacrifice the remainder of our regular forces. He, at least, had . . seen not only grounds-of suspicion, but proofs,, the most unequivocal; of their 'ignorance and incapacity, and he shot ld therefore support the motion of his liort. Friend. - • The Earl of WEStmouLaND opposed the Motion. Not a word bad been offered by either of the Noble Lords in direa justification of the produCtion of such returns. The only_topic insisted upon, was the ig norance and incapacity of Ministers. They went back to the expedition, under . Sir John .Moore; -to thebattle of Talavera j• to-the Convention of Cintra ; but adduCed no one argument in support of the moil tion before their Lordships. They contended that. Lis Majesty's Government would' misemploy the troops that had lately teen sent-abroad, without pre tending to say how,'or where they were to be em ployed.: They were faithful to their old maxim and practice--condemn first, and theninquire, The Marquis of Douti.As supported 'the tnotion, and admonished- the House not to entrust anymore our military force to. the direetion of 'Men wbp had. proved themselves so incapable of managing if: Auer a few observationsfrotn Lord DARNLEY in reply, the House divided— _ Contents - . 28 Non• Contents• - 38 Majority againtt the motion—to EXCHANGE OF PRISONERS. O. our return below the B?r, we found Lord HOLLAND oti his legs, arguing in support of the motion of which he bad given notice, for infor t motion respening ; the - late diseussione relative to an exchange of ptiseners between this -country arid- Frence. The.quastion Was one which deeply af feCladethe honour- and cliaredet Of the country, as well as the private tdclings _of those to whom it more iminediately related. When the condition •of • oat brave sailors, and .of our . gallant soldiers e who have so long lingered in the - hands of :the . enemy, and in a foreign land, was duly considered, nothing perhaps could be well conceived more discouraging and desolate. - They were at that time of life when hope, is most active in the hernae breast. They had , • embrac , d a profession which held out to them pros-. peas of honour and glory, and what has been their fate -?- - For a number of years they have now been lingering in captivity ; and though they may' not be doomed to dungeons, yet are they-deprived of what 'is most dear to men. They are deprived of all in- tereourse with friends and relatiense--theyare deprived of all means of advancing their views in . life—they are deprived of every opportunity of dis itlayieg that zeal and courage for the glory and in terest of their country, which prorpised to be the, reward and solace of their arduous toils ; .and ebey are deprived of all these consolations, not for months or for - yearse but for a dreary uecertainty eespeeling the termination of a war, "of va tech no hu'man fore sight can calculate the close. Unfortunately, such, it is too well known, has long been ~the: condition of our hrave countrymen, .now prisoners of war in - France; and if aay opportunity has - been omitted of rescuing them ,f=inial that long and sad- capiiyity, or rather" if every offer of an acconnondation that 'promised to have that efTea, has nor been eagerly and instantly embraced, e bi Majesty's Ministersare guilty of the most callous " and cruel: indifference tp the sufferings of these brave men; and that neglect and indifference . he would consider as ateong the blackest of their crimes. No doubt for a - length of time the charge of this cruelty had' been wholly imputable ,to the enemy. By the most wanton and unjustifiable abuse of power, and by the worst violation of the practice and law of civilized war fare, the Ruler of Fronce, when Firit Consul, or dered the British subjects travelling in - France to be seized,, and treated as prisoners of war, on she break ieg out of the ,presenr war. This .unprecedented vi•_ilence qu his part gave rise to the discus eon of questioris, which threw an insurmountable barrier- in the way of an exchange Of prisoners.' Not only' did Buonaparte thus treat with contempt _the laws of vilized warfare, but he set up pretensions the most extravagant and extraordinary respecting the nature and mode of the exchange of prisoners, The-Ha ' noveriens, who- laid down their arms ih Hanover, he wished to. have considered ris British suhje&s, and as such to be exchanged for French soldiers. These, and other pretensions not less inadmissible, stood long in the way ofanyarraegement for the ex change of prisoners. In the admission of -these pre tensions it was impossible for the 'British Government to aceuiesde, $o far therefore the charge of cruelty remained with the enerne. But it would appear that of late the French seem disposed' to relax from these pretensions, and to have made an -offer of coming to arrangemeet on this delicate' and impoi font point. ,How has-that offer been received and treated by the British Government is the question which he would now discuss, and of which he wes moat anxious to obtain any - ex planation. More, than once has the s enemy asserted that' he had' made a proposition for the appointment of Commissioners to meet at Merlaix, at .d-treat for a basis. on winch to establish an exchange of prisoners. That proposition, the enemy assertee was refused or eluded by the British Government; lest; as -it is observed in the kloniteur, ,that negociation for exchange of prisoners .should lead to a negociation for peace. This chareee,,thougli made in an anonymous unofficial paragreplt, carries still some weight with it, especially when it is con *sidered that it appeared - in the official, paper of 'the French Government, and that such is the degraded state of the Press in France, that nothing was likely to appear there that Could be pffensive to the French Government. But this charge does not rest solely on this loose anonymous paragraph It is repeated in the most solemn-and public manner in a solemn and offiCial document addressed - by the French Mi nister (qe Foreign :Affairs to the Dutch - Minister of Finance. Coming in such h shape, and from such authority, the charge cannot be overlooked. If it be not rebutted by the British Government, must not the stigma of the inhumautty which, attaches- to this protracted disregard of the usages of civilized war now attach to the British GOvernment and to the "British nation at large ? And is it possible -that Ministers can refuse inlorniation on such a subjeCt, - ih which not only their own condud, but the cha-. meter of the nation is so deeply involvdd ? They surely will not pretend to say that a negociation for an - exchange of prisoners is to be compered to -the complex negociation for peace; and that, pending a negociation, it would be improper to proceed to any open declaration respecting the nature of its condi. tions, or the progress it mfy have made; The facts here to be disclosed can beget no ieconvenience 5 nothing more is required than a statement of the dates when this - proposition was made. How 'it had beeri loceived, and what truth there may he in the assertion of the Duke of Cadore, that the British Government refused to entertain the proposition, or purposely eluded it lest it should lead. to a negocia tion of a ireaty'erf ,peace, poor as was his-opinion of the present Ministers,of the Crown, and lie thought them by far the worse of any by whom this country had - ever the misfortune to be ruled, lie could not 'bring himself to believe they-could be capable of such conduct. It they have been guilty of it, then he would not hesitate to say, that they had filled the measure of their crimes. The -motion with which he should now conclude, would afford them a fair opportunity of exculpating themselves. .The • Noble Lord then'moved an humble address to his Majesty, praying his Majesty would be 'graciously pleased to-'direct that there be laid before that House copies-or extracts of such correspopdence, and the dates thereoG as may have passed between the Trans port Board-and the Fretich Government, relative to the exchange of pi isciners. .• . Lord-Au LGRAVE observed, that the eery objection which the Nuble Lord had stated vviie of such force Lim, that it induced him to oppose the motion of the Noble Baron. /Surely their Lordsbies mot feel bow novel' and unprecedented such a motion must be, under all the circumstances of the moment. - That House and the Government would ill consult their dgnity indeed, if 'they were to institute&so. 7 lemn proceeding in' that House, merely to notic e some,loose 'anonymous squib of a French news paper. Besides, the question was a most -deli cate one; and, instead of forwarding the .ob ject which ~the Noble Baron had in view, of accele'rating- the release ,of our brave. sailors and soldiers from captivity, it might have - thei very .contrary .effect, and not only retard, but de! e at the accomplis hment of the object-altogether. It was still expected that the arrangement would pro ceed,and that a cartel might be established; and could any thing be` more unprecedented and imprudent than thus prematurely to drag into discussion an un finished- negociation. Ministers helchhemselves re sponsible for wlrat they had done and were doing, and he never'woeld consent to any untimely disclo- Sure of a begociation; which might be frustrated en tirely merely by having been disclosed. Before he sat;doxn, he Could not- hut advert.to some observa tioes which had fallen from the Noble Baron,when he gave notice of his present motion. • - It so hap pened-that he was not in the House at the time, nor did he indeed expect that the Noble Lord could ever have seriously thought.of bringing forward such a motion. It appeared, however, that in giving notice of this motion, th, Noble Baronet had indulged an Observation respetting him; and the cause Onfis ab ,sence, Which were as destitute of candour'a's of , all foundation. Indeed, he could not help saying there 'Was a degree of impropriety in the . conduct of the NAble Ihron'whicti he not expea, and which he should not have hazard d - on no better ground than a street report. I:tte Noble Baron had,stated that he, (Lord' Mulgrave) .was not in the confidence of,his colleagues,. of th tt if yet there was any inter coui:se still between them, some of them, he hoped, would find . meins of making a communication to him of the Noble Baron's notice. Now there was not a shadow of, foundation for such insinuatio n.--- He trusted he enjoyed the confidence of his-col, leagues, and that nothing bad occured to interrupt the harmony which subsisted between him andmeni. He should be glad•to ke,any Noble Lord get up in his place, and'point out any action of his life which could justif} q belief that - he would continue to act with any set of men whose confidence ne.had lost, or whO would ,hold no intercourse with him. Lord HOLLAND, in explanation, said,, that the d Noble Lord should be able correctly Co state what he he. had said, before he had charged his conduCt with improPrieiy.—VVliat he said was, that after the shameful concealmentsy which. had taken place in other important matters, and the want of confidence. and cordiality' which had betrayed itself between some Members of the Cabinet, it was nut unnatural . • to suppose that the notice he had given might nut be communicated to the Noble Lord. The Marquis of LANDSDOWNE adopted the same line of argument as Lord Holland, and contended that all that was - asked of Ministers, was to give. a short, plsini:and explicit answer to a single questibm, Had tne, negotiation for an excha nge o f p r i soners been refnsed,or eluded by them ?—when had it tom. murced ?—bas it terminated ? It was unfair to treat tiheaSsertins in the Aloniteur as anonymous squib's., Was the' solemn acid public declaraiien of the Duke of Cadore an an squill ?—No answer was given, to that public charge. Why not directly deny it it it was false ? But the Noble Lord said, that the'present motion was unprecedented, . and that - it was beneath ihe dignity of Parliairkent to take notice 1 of the atiOnymous - squibs of newspapers. • But did 1 the Noble Lord, recollect the proceeding of the i other -House of Parliament, which really had been instituted on no better ground than an anonymous 1 paragraph in a 'French newspaper. A French news- I, paper bad asserted that the French prisoners in this l country had - been treated With inhumanity. The ! 'charge was .thought so injurious to our nationatelia- I racter, that a Cornmittee was moved for in the,. i House of Qoiritnons in . 1797, to inquire into th e 1 grounds of the charge, which Committee- in its re f port completely refuted the charge,. and vindicated 1 the aspersed charatter of . the British Government . and 'nation.' Why not institute a similar proceeding • at present, % - vhere s a far more serious charge is made, 4 not 'anonymously, but by. the first authority in IFrance, against the charader of the British Govern ment ? • . , • ' . The Earl of LIVERPOOL '6:)ntended, that the ans wer given by. his Noble Friend (LOrd;grave) ap. peared, to him so satisfactory, that he did not feel it necessdry to make any addition to it. Their Lord ships must feel how indiscreet it would 'be to hurry into public discussion the particulars of a nepciation which reds not brought to an issue. ; ~Lord GRiNVILLE; professed himself• to be'one of those who was not satisfied with th e answer of the . . Noble . Lord at the head of the Admiralty., In fad it was no answer at all, and it betuved a levity and an ignorance vibich•cou!d not well be supposed to _exist. in a Cabinet‘Minister, who did not seem to' know till that moment that such a document was in existence as the Letter p f the Duke of Cadore. to th e Dutch Finatx:e.Minister. 'As little satisfaction did, he give, when he ' treated the Moti o n o f hi s N o bl e. kriend as novel and unprecedented. The precedent which had been mentioned proved the contraryr— and attested the sense .% hich the Parliament and the GoVernment of ;the country then felt of the attpnOt to asperse the character kof both ; and be entreated their Lordships to consider the great :difference which occurred b4weeti the two . cases. 'The accu sation against this country then was; thaithe.F.iench prisoneis A'ere treated with iniinmanity that . accu-_ satiun' was 'refuted in The most • suiekun and manner. What is the charge now ? Wny, that the (.4overnment of this country have,refused to 'its-. ten to a prypusition for -an exchange of prisoners. By so doing, if • the charge _be true, . would they nut be guilty o( much greater and more cumpreheusive erkielly than was netoro itnputrd to tin 4 country, • for the French Go v e rnitient, ,only charged us with want of Iminapity towards the .i.:iench prisoners ? but here Ministers wuuid he guilty of cruelty, not only towards our own countrymen, out also towards the Fieneii - pri,oaers. Ilkdeed, 'St charge could' be made good against tikein, they would stand con- . vi:;!secl'ot a most airpelo. , s k Owe. fhere,wassome thing behind in this ilid!iet Ministers were afraqi to AVOW. Lord WEsTMOKLKND opposed the motiou, and MARRIta On the the Bth inst. S. Hamilton Rowan, Esq. second i p Archibald Hamilton . Rowan,, Esq. of ic ilt e lagh Csstlct the County of Down, t o Elrep, daughter of John Es At Dunbrociy Abbey,• near Dungannon Fort, lohns, Esq. of th e O r d nance, , to Miss Bridget Mac G I cundy, of Fintern. Yesterday morning, at St. B r id e ' s Church, Mr. 06'-'t ticf A. of Ryder street, St.- lam es ' s , to, M iss Fraiices Svnior", f New Bridge street. . Lately, at PyrtOn, in Oxfordshire, Dr. Harty, of pu b ' to Mits Kent, et Kent. 1' LOPPON : Printed by RICHARD HARRIS, or No. 4, Martlett.cow!, Bow,,stmet and Pc - At the SuN-OFFICE , No, 112, Strand ; - where Adverti:seasents-, Orders. for ta, lialk Stock, shut NiivJ c per CI 98 Irish 5 per Ce.tiL shut 4 per c . eln. shut ' 3 per i enr i:01. shut 3 pet' Ct. Coils.' 61 lit Wilk Long Ann.'-slnat • dishea .by I L 1:1 Lit,.s LIZ I PPS, ',owl', Mnaori.street, Cr , rvenor tqtiale. Paper, Later,s lor ti;p (pust-iniia), addressed' eont&lded that there was no'iiinilgity between ti e two cases, LOrd ,Gain . thought the , ans:Ver of the. No ile Lords opposite to him quite unsatisfaaory. He read part of the Report of the'Ci.mmAtee of 'the Hue 'of Commons in ii;g7, and the fltird resolution which - had t•lien ben adopted,. which resolution proVed nqt. only that there was no .foundatiOn for , the charge of inh uman i ty towa rd s the French pr;Soners, but that - the British G - ivernr inent at thdt time: .manifeSted every dispoion, to . establiSh an , eXcliange of prisoners, but that it was wholly protrieled by the atravagant and inadmis. sible ..pretenSions of the, enemy. But in order to give Ministers every possible fair play, and put they sincerity of their assertions to the test, he would .solicit his Noble Friend to withdraw . his ,an-Dtion, fuc the purpose of moving for a - Select Committed to, inquire into the groundS of the charge made by the French Governm nt; or of submitting in its roani a txto7iou , to the House fit ascertaining the l;itt4 of the . proposal,,and of the wfi.a4l of Ministers to ascertain it. Lord MULORAII3 wpuld not consent to take du; .matter out of the hands of the executive power iii order to refer it to a Committee. He thought hi 4 do answer fully satialai,y and in his wish to mat ii it more so), he was teady to say that no proposal for an exchange of prisoners - had been refused, and that the . arrangement for cariying that desir able objeet into execution was still under content-. , . piation. - After a few Observations from Lord SPENCER and ,Lord HARROWBY, the House divided on the orit-, nal motion : Contents T s 7 Non-Contents • - 39 • On the snug estion of Lord GREY, Lord .....i•roLLAND then moved for tie dateg of all the corrununir 1:15 received from the French'Grivernineue. short conversation took place on this motion. Lord DERRY thuugtit that the manner iii - winah the motion of his Nobie Friend had been wet, would prove neither s ttsfactory to the copritry, yor to the persbns below the 4ar. To this allusion to persons below the Bar, rho Noble Esrl was called to order, KO, on a motlon /d.'- t'hat etfeet, the abuse was cleared of strangers, 2 14 we were not . re -admitted. The debate cow inuen for some ti rie, and on a di... vision, the numbers'were— . Contenti - Non. Contents . 27 Adjourned. • On' Saturday last, a Coroner's InOest was taken . at Mall Prison, on the body of lean Bergeret, French prisoner of war, who had been killed by Pierre Ayes, his fellow prisoner. It apiteared that the deceased had' been suspthed of tbett, and‘that Ayes ) writhout.any provocation whatever ) , came to him where, he was sitting ava table in the prisOnr, on the Monday evening before,, knocked hias down, kicked him, and then trampled upon him and on, the dethsed's endeavouring to' rise up, h" finally kicked him in the-eye, and knocked:him dowl again. The deceased-complained that.his chest was - broken in, and -he Was conveyed to the hospital ad" joining the prison,.where belatiguishe.t following, when he died. The prisoner Ayes stated as an excuse for his. diabolical conduct, that he wa* in a state of ifraoxieation at 't he titne.—The Jury, af- . tera minute inquiry into thecircumstances, brought in a verdict of Wilful ,Murder, and Ayes was there -- fore committed to the high gaol at. Exeter to tao his trial for-the offence at the present Assiies. Tuesday evening, about seven o'clock, as Smithson was crossing the fields front cambei wreh . to Kennington, be was copped by two men in ,( 4 . ; diers' clothes, who knocked him down, arid rubbed him of.his watch an d• seven shillings silver, wit'. which they•rnade their escape. ' • SHIP Ni'). GRAVISEHo, MARCH 21. Arrived—the Hannah, Pyke, from CadiZ. Sailed—the Phoenix, Ramsden, for India ; Taffic, can, for Demerara; and the Maria, Woolley, for Cadiz. B.llilllB. On Thursday the rgth i ns t., at Lambeth Te rrace , the Lad of JV.in Giftbrd, Esq. of a Daughter. ' • On Tuesday last, in Berkeley square, 'Mrs. T. • Rail(44. of a Daughter. - On Wednesday, in Russell square, Lady Romilly, Of Son. On the zadiust. Mrs. Ryland, wife of Mr. J. C. RYiell('' of the Circus, Minories, of a Daughter. I.) I la 1.1 - - " On /IN zOth ult. at Glasgow, in the 85th year of his 3 D -. ! George Esq. , i. On the 19th inst. a t hi s h ouse i n Stephen ' s Green, Pu-br, lin, the Right Rev. l o hn. L aw, D.D. Lord Bishop of ''' phin. The same day, at Sidrnouth, the Hon. Mrs. R4' 1).1 0 , Cocks, widow of the Hon. Reginald Cocks, youngest so. lo ~ `the late Lord Somers, and second daughter of the late • ' 'Cocks, Esq. vorV On the aoth inst. Thomas Rice; Lsq. Clerk of the , , at His Majesty's Palace, at flarnptoii-court, and SurveYu" the Guards. .• • On I'Vednesflay the zr st inst.: at her, house in Porto ) a o 1 street, Lady Langharn, relit of Sir- tames Lahgbarn, Cotte4)rooke, 'in the Comity' orNorthanipton, 1 1,,r 1 Lately, in the West I n di es , i n hi s 17t h rear, of the Ye'• l , fever, Y illiam, the younger son of the Rev. GO of Ilford, Essex. •A tew days ago, of a decline, Mr. William Tellk , +!' yeas many yes princi i a! Clerk o f Sh a d we l l P ollee-Of fi c e. ' On Saturday rr,Jrniug,• at Wexford, Mr. loliti • Lately, in Tratee,' Mrs". .Gunn, wife of George ""'„ D yr -Esq, of LOwereannon, and sister of the late Sir Barry Bart. OX'. VESTE R A. y. I :,ct.a Stock; shut Ineita i;otvls, its. pr. 4 f , ► Lxcher.. i . s s: los• 7s. pr. Cent. I'7 " , 't Impe Jai 3 •oe• C • • ludis for ALvount, 1811, i C.0r1 4 .. for ittirAprai